Thursday Prayer: things that do not exist yet

You are the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” (Romans 4:17)

We are locked down,
we are sheltering in place,
we are safeguarding our bubbles.
We are trying to plan for all the contingencies,
holding all the “if-thens”
and the “but really it is impossible to know right now.”
We are uncertain, needing steadiness.

And we confess:
You are the God who gives life to the dead
and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

We are in election season.
Fear and suspicion,
misogyny and racism
undergird so much commentary and conversation.
Civility seems at best a thin veneer,
generosity of spirit a far-fetched idea.

And we declare:
You are the God who gives life to the dead
and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

We live in a world shaped by colonialism,
by imperialism,
by the legacy of conquest and slavery.
Espoused views of equality
are contradicted by the lives we live,
the racism we perpetuate,
the racism we endure.
Black lives matter.

And so we pray
You are the God who gives life to the dead
and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

In a world of fear
call into existence trust!
In a world of conflict
call into existence peace!
In a world of injustice
call into existence justice!
You are the God who gives life to the dead
and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
You are our God!
Amen.

Jemma Allen is a priest in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia and expresses that ministry as a researcher, counsellor and spiritual director. She lives in a city that locked down on Wednesday after 100 days without community transmission of Covid-19 was disrupted by a new cluster of cases. There will be a national election in September.

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